. >> in germany, women and men are equal under the law, but in the workplace, equality of pay remains out of reach. >> women have to work 15 months to earn what men make in a year doing the same job. >> the painful reality highlighted across the country thursday during equal pay date. >> raising a flag for equal pay. in berlin and around germany, people have been staging protests to call attention to the wage gap between men and women. >> for us, the first step is raising awareness. we have organized over 800 initiatives around germany. it is important that people recognize the problem. >> it is a problem not just in germany but around europe. in the european union, women earned around 16% less than men on average. the difference is even bigger in germany at about 22%. the pay gap is smaller in many eastern european countries. in poland, for instance, women and about 4% less, but there are fewer women in the work force overall. more women work part time or low-wage jobs. many women find work in child care and health care, but many jobs in these sectors are poorly paid. by contrast, th